Woman Accused of Posting Craigslist Ad Asking Men to Rape Her Ex's New Wife

According to the official statement from the Orange County District Attorney, several men turned up at the victim's house with the intention of raping her. One physically attacked the woman before she was able to call for help and the man fled the scene. Prosecutors are withholding the identity of the victim.

Hadley had a two-year relationship with the victim's husband, a US Marshal, which ended in 2015. Between June 6 and July 13 this year, Hadley allegedly sent emails threatening to kill the woman and her unborn child, as well as stalking her. Despite being served with a protective order forbidding her to contact the victim, prosecutors claim that Hadley began posting the Craigslist adverts soliciting her rape, continuing to do so even after being arrested by police.

Prosecutors allege the ads were the terrifying culmination of weeks of sustained abuse towards the victim. Hadley has been charged with ten felonies, including six felony counts of attempted forcible rape, stalking, and stalking with a restraining order.If found guilty, Hadley faces a possible life sentence.

Although horrifying, Hadley's alleged crimes are not unique. In the UK, 30-year-old Joanne Berry was sentenced to six years imprisonment after inviting men from online chatrooms to rape a female co-worker. Luckily, the man who turned up at the victim's house realized the situation and she escaped physical harm. And in 2010, former Marine Jebidiah James Stipe was sentenced to 60 years for impersonating his ex-girlfriend online and posting a Craigslist ad inviting strangers to fulfil "her" rape fantasy, leading to her violent rape. Prior to her attack, the victim had complained to Craigslist about the ad.

"It's certainly a very disturbing case," says Professor Clare McGlynn of Durham University, a rape law expert. I ask how the law handles crimes of this nature, where the defendant is accused of facilitating a violent crime without participating in it themselves. "By placing the ads and encouraging rape, the defendant is clearly committing a criminal act. Incitement of this kind is criminalized."

While the law is clear when it comes to incitement, when it comes to the physical assailant in this case—the man who believed he was taking part in a consensual fantasy—the situation becomes murkier. "Regarding the rapist or potential rapist, if a jury believed the defendant had a reasonable belief in consent, then there would be no conviction," McGlynn explains. "However the question for the jury would be whether it was reasonable in these circumstances to assume consent in the context of verbal and physical indications of lack of consent."

A leading UK prosecutor, who successfully secured a conviction for a remarkably similar crime, expresses dismay on learning about the Ontario case. They preferred to remain anonymous when commenting on cases they were not prosecuting."I thought [the crime I prosecuted] was unique," they told Broadly. "It's a great shame that doesn't appear to be the case."

In their view, such crimes are becoming increasingly common. "Threats of violence and harassment are just as much an offence if delivered over the Internet as they are if they're delivered face to face."

They added: "The people who commit them seem to believe the Internet gives them an Harry Potter-esque Invisibility Cloak. Nothing could be further from the truth."

I asked Dr Victoria Nash of the Oxford Internet Institute if websites such as Craigslist are doing enough to curb these crimes. Should we move away from anonymous platforms such as Craigslist and Reddit, towards a more Facebook-like model where people are required to use their real names and identifiable personal details?

Nash is sceptical, emphasizing that anonymity is inherent within the business models of many of these websites. "There's a huge amount of pressure resisting that. The Internet is seen as an important space for free speech; for anonymous speech; for experimentation; for playing with your identity."

She speculates that some perpetrators won't fully understand the implications of their crimes—and the lengthy custodial sentences that await them. "There seems to be something about the distance involved. When you do things online, it can feel like you and the people you're trying to affect are very remote." As such, some perpetrators may not expect to be caught or to have a "real world, offline impact."

But, as the anonymous prosecutor makes clear, such a view would be mistaken. "Our police have got very good at tracking people down who do this sort of thing. Hopefully this will deter potential future offenders."